For Immediate Release: Fill the Seats Food Drive Raises 28,450 Meals
For Immediate Release
December 12, 2022
Santa Fe, New Mexico | The Lensic Performing Arts Center’s first annual Fill the Seats Food Drive garnered a stellar result: the food drive raised enough financial and food donations to provide 28,450 meals. A collaboration with The Food Depot and Century Bank, who provided the bags, Fill the Seats called on our community to help support northern New Mexicans in need this holiday season.
The goal was to raise enough to fill all 821 seats in the theater with bags of donations. The donations were given by both the Lensic’s patrons and the greater community. All proceeds go directly to the Food Depot. The Lensic is deeply grateful to all who gave to this worthwhile cause. Fill the Seats was part of the Lensic’s ongoing efforts to support the local community. The bags were generously donated by Century Bank.
About The Food Depot
As the food bank for nine counties, The Food Depot provides hunger relief to more than 35,013 people experiencing hunger. The Food Depot offers food to persons experiencing food insecurity through strategic programs and a network of 80 nonprofit hunger-relief partners at more than 142 locations across northern New Mexico. During 2021, The Food Depot distributed enough food for 8.8 million meals to people experiencing food insecurity, including the most vulnerable of our community—children, seniors, working families, and those in ill health.
In The Food Depot’s service area, 15% of people are food insecure, a rate that increases for New Mexico’s youth: a devastating 23% of children in The Food Depot’s service area are food insecure. The long-lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have worsened the reality for those struggling in New Mexico, with a growing number of families facing difficult decisions on a daily basis. The Food Depot works tirelessly to provide the basic necessity of food to our communities.
About the Lensic
Lensic Performing Arts Center, a historic venue in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, is home to nearly 200 events each year. Built in 1931 as a vaudeville stage and movie palace, the Lensic was fully renovated in 2001 and reopened as a nonprofit, member-supported organization that provides high-quality arts experiences for everyone. Our stage is a home for Santa Fe’s performance groups and welcomes touring artists throughout the year; our original Lensic Presents programming series showcases world-class artists from near and far; and our life-enriching arts education programs reach more than 18,000 students annually. Learn more at Lensic.org